A Dance of Silver and Shadow (Beyond the Four Kingdoms, #1)

by Melanie Cellier

And, anyway, some sacrifices are worth it. Love is pain, and all that.

It was a strange dynamic, this competition where everyone had to try their best, but everyone wanted to lose.

I had been all too similar as a young girl. Desperate for a long dress and to be included with the adults, dazzled by the allure of a ball. But, at the same time, wanting adventures. It hadn’t seemed at all contradictory either.

he put his arm around me, tucking me into his side. I felt small and delicate. Cherished.

It struck me as humorous that I had learned to stand apart from Sophie, only to choose to once again become half of a whole. Perhaps that had been the lesson, after all. Not that I could stand alone, but that I could be more than one person.

I’ll be coming back. But not until I can bring the light with me.